Random German Beers (from Ballyogan)

Doing some shopping in Dunnes in Ballogan I noticed some new cheap lager, and  I'm always on the lookout for good cheap lager. There were three beers from Eichbaum, a Pilsener, a Weissbier (I ignored that one) and the last of the three was a huge (950ml) of "Premium" beer, which I just had to buy.. 

Eichbaum Pilsener 50cl 4.8% abv  €1.50

Best way to describe this is probably "solid". Nice balanced taste, good mouthfeel and a decent finish. Good value as priced and  I'll be buying more.

Eichbaum PremiumBier 95cl 5.5% abv €3.50  
Didn't really care for this. The extra strength and "premium-ness" translates into a slightly unpleasant heat and a touch bitterness at the back of the palate. Don't like.

I was in Molloys looking for new Irish beers and IPAs and I cam across these two premium looking German types so I decide to take a punt on them. Link 

Stortebeker Atlantik-Ale 50cl 5.1% abv €3.75
When I bought this I had no idea what kind of "ale" this was. It came out a very pale if slightly cloudy lager like colour, so I guess it's probably a pale (or golden) ale. First things first, its got loads of lovely tropical fruit, loads. Not a huge finish but there's a little hoppines to counterbalance the fruit. If you like the tropical fruit thing then this a lovely example.

Stortebeker Pilsener-Bier 50cl 4.9% abv €3.25
Quite pale in the glass with a pretty thick white head with a slightly grassy aroma. I like it. It has a crisp and clean flavour. It's very well balanced with a hint of hops at the finish. It's a pretty solid Pilsener, problem is it's not cheap at €3.25 a bottle. Is it significantly nicer than other decent euro lagers e.g. Veltins, Spaten, Pilsner Urquell, Krombacher etc? You be the judge.

The International Lager Challenge - Grand Final

So it's come to this - I've decided to blind taste the four lager finalists. A quick reminder of how the finalists got here.

Poland - The Zywiec had an easy Semi against the relatively unknown Warka and squeezed past the Tyskie in the regional final.

Germany -  The Krombacher had perhaps the hardest road to the final. I was able to find eight German lagers so the Krom had to win a quarter Final, a Semi Final and a Final. In the QF it handily beat the upstart Warsteiner. The Semi was a tougher affair, with the much fancied Veltins being narrowly dispatched. In the Final, I was tired and elected the winner more or less on a whim.

Czech Republic - The Budvar was always a favourite of mine so I never expected it to meet much opposition on the way to the final. Staropramen was defeated in the Semi and the Budvar came through in a tight contest against a resurgent Pilsner Urquell in the final.

Netherlands - The Grolsch - vanquished the surprisingly popular (in Amsterdam) Bavaria in the SF and then beat the southsiders fave Heineken 5% in the final.

So I asked Herself to pour the four finalists into identical glasses. I expected not to be able tell anything from the visuals - colour, head etc. and thus it proved. BTW I asked Herself to chime in also, she knew what the beers were but she wouldn't have the same prejudices, preconceptions and outright biases that I maintain. I know they aren't beer glasses but those were the only glasses I could find four of...

Lager #1
Herself said that she found it "gentle", I found it delicious and subtle, if I had to describe it, (and I guess I do, given that's the raison d'etre of the post). If I'm honest, it took until the second round of tastings that I really got this...
Guess - Krombacher.

Lager #2
Hey Mikey, she likes it!* I liked it too. Full falvoured and well balanced. I suspected it wasn't the Krom or the Bud so..
Guess - Zywiec

Lager #3
Herself preferred #2 and so did I. After the first two this came across as a bit bland.
Guess - Grolsch

Lager #4
Big, bold and beautiful.
Guess - It can only be the Budvar.

I'm batting .500 with 2 out of 4 correct. I mixed up the Grolsch and the Zywiec, speaking of which the Zywiec did not come across well. The Grolsch was pretty good, in third place, and surprised me by kicking some Polish ass.

Which leaves us with the Krom and the Bud, beauty and the beast, and I have to choose between them. Or Do I? Its my ball and I'll play with it as I see fit. In this case, I'm giving them joint first place.

If you want a delicious but subtle lager, Krombacher is for you. If, at another time, you need a big beefy, full strength lager lager then Budvar is your man.

Apologies for my equivocation, but when in doubt, do both.

* A very popular TV advertisement when I was growing up, on the "other side of the pond"

The Intl. Lager Challenge - Germany - Final 3 (of 4)

Final - Germany

Krombacher  4.8% abv
Beck's 4.8% abv

Ach - I'm tired of the format of these posts; I'm just gonna drink a half a glass of each and declare a winner. I'm too tired and lazy to try and be witty, informative or even accurate, about these beers. I'm just gonna taste, judge and decide, somewhat arbitrarily.

It's Krombacher - deal with it.

The Intl. Lager Challenge - Germany Semi Finals 1 & 2

Semi Final 1
Krombacher  4.8% €2.95
Veltins Pilsener 4.8% abv  €2.99

Germany Quarter Finals 1&2 are here, Germany Quarter Final 3&4 are here

Veltins is very much the underdog here, it was a surprise winner in the QF against the fancied Spaten but I think it will have its work cut out against the mighty Krombacher, which as I mentioned in the QF, I have loved for a long time. The Krom won fairly handy against the mid-table Warsteiner and if I were a betting man I wouldn't wager against it.

Krombacher
Still very good, smooth, creamy and delicious.

Veltins
The Veltins is also good, it's less smooth but it has a hint of hoppiness that I'm liking. This is a tough call; both are very tasty

Winner - Krombacher (by a nose)

Semi Final 2
Beck's 4.8% abv  €1.75
Grafenwalder 5% abv €1.09

The Grafenwalder has it all to do. It's the only "cheap" beer to win a round to date but it's up against a "premium" lager in Becks, which I know I like. I brought down a sixpack of The Graf on hols and had no complaints, but I also brought a slab of Finkbrau, so I don't know what to tell you.

Becks
Yep, still good. Crisp and clean, not earth shattering but solid. There's body to this lager and a tiny bit of malt.

Grafenwalder
Hmmm, there's some little hoppiness here but not much else, still it's quite drinkable.

Winner - Becks

The Intl. Lager Challenge - Germany Quarter Finals 1 & 2

Quarter Final 1
Spaten 5.2% abv
Veltins Pilsener 4.8% abv  €2.99

I do like Spaten, I had some recently at a gig (Hey! I'm not so old), and I really enjoyed it. I've only had Veltins once, on a recommendation from some guy in an off licence. It was OK; pleasant but unremarkable. Sounds like this match is a no-brainer, let's see...

Spaten
Pale yellow in the glass, decent head. It's not bad, but not great. Some decent malt present and it's smooth, dry and drinkable but  nothing exciting here.

Veltins Pilsener
This is nice. Decent malt  and a little hops. Again not massively exciting but pretty decent.

Winner  - Veltins

Quarter Final 2
Kromabcher  4.8% €2.95 (Dunnes)
Warsteiner 4.8% abv

Back when we used to drink in the Stillorgan Orchard on a regular basis, they used to have Krombacher on tap and I bleedin' loved it, but I haven't seen it on draught it since. I buy it occasionally in bottles, but it can be pricey - three yo-yos for a bottle of lager isn't that clever. I'm sure I've sampled the Warsteiner before but I couldn't tell you when, I guess I must have tried it at least once? Anyway, here goes...

Krombacher
Amber in the glass with a long lasting head, this is pure class. Well balanced, sweet and slightly creamy (?) with a long luscious finish, this is utterly delicious. I suspect this will be a hard ask for the opposition here.


Warsteiner 
Tennis ball yellow in the glass, the head on this rapidly disappeared (baum). Not bad, a little bitterness but not much else going on. Fine on a hot day but not a winner here...

Winner  - Krombacher